Center for Jewish Culture & Creativity

Greater Los Angeles European-American Folklife/Other Multi-genre

The Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity (CJCC) undertakes projects that address Jewish identity and community through the medium of culture.  CJCC was founded in Tel Aviv in 1990 by leading Israeli and North American artists, scholars, and entrepreneurs who recognized that creative talent is a major resource of the Jewish people for sustaining Jewish identity.  A nonprofit institution in both the United States and Israel, CJCC is committed to fostering a dynamic international Jewish culture rooted in the Land of Israel, as envisioned by Zionist philosopher Ahad Ha’am.  CJCC facilitates access to cultural works from Israel, and to Jewish creativity from outside Israel, as a means of strengthening Jewish communities, shaping Jewish identity, and honoring the ongoing Jewish contribution to universal civilization.

In 2002, support from ACTA’s Traditional Arts Development Program enabled CJCC to record and document ancient Moroccan traditional chants as sung by Rabbi Haim Louk, a Californian of Moroccan birth, who is unique in his knowledge of both Arabic and Jewish musical history and is recognized as the foremost authority on the unique Jewish-Moroccan musical tradition.